Comments on: Top Gear Australia Perhaps Misguided In Hoping Being The Cause Of A Traffic Jam Will Lead To Even More Viewers

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:52:20 +0000

I agree with Maxwell too. Top Gear has attempted to make itself the “Australian” Top Gear, implying that the producers seem to think that location somehow makes a difference. Location should be irrelevant – ratings already show that Top Gear is popular all over the world – producing a local version just doesn’t seem like a particularly lucrative thing to do.

The things that made Top Gear enjoyable were Jeremy, Hammond and Captain Slow. The fact that Top Gear AU is now testing out all the cars that Top Gear UK tested out in Season 11 (like the Nissan GTR) makes the local version completely pointless. Why watch a show that has all the old cars, and all the bad jokes?

Moreover, Top Gear Australia has resorted to a Ford vs Holden battle – two American cars battling it out for Australian market share. At least the new Top Gear is endeavouring to try something original… Oh wait.

Incidentally, Top Gear UK is actually non-scripted – the presenters decide themselves what they will say. Although, obviously, they plan what they are going to say before hand, and edit to a great extent:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4458926.stm

I assume that the same is the case for TG AU, hence the crap commentary. I would prefer it if Clarkson wrote the script for TG AU. Or maybe he could just present it himself.

By: Hope

Hope — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:54:53 +0000

The show will improve once they ditch Charlie Cox. Freehand Productions need to move on this ASAP or they will have no hope of making a local version a big success. He is no Jeremy Clarkson. But he seems to think he is bigger than the great man.

By: Bazza

Bazza — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:42:31 +0000

Brad, we understand the points you make, but they are not mitigating. In fact if anything they simply go to show what poor casting has been chosen. Added to that is the fact that the show drips with inappropriate and unnecessary Australian jingoisms at every turn.

It's obvious that the production standards and scripting are equally as high as the UK version, but the cast and settings simply aren't pulling it off, or doing it all justice. It doesn't help that Charlie comes across like the lecherous uncle at the family xmas gathering.

By: Alice

Alice — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:44:49 +0000

Well put Maxwell.

To Brad, I do realise that the English version has a script, but the way that the three presenters deliver it has a charm and freshness, which is completely related to their skill, humour and as Maxwell put it, passion.

I am proof that it is not about the cars, I am not interested in cars, yet I love the English version of the show, and have done for years now.

By: MaxwellEdison

MaxwellEdison — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:45:08 +0000

Nope. Don’t give it a chance. It’s *painful*. And painful with gratuitous “Australianisms” sprinkled through. No sense of subversion. No sense of joy. The UK Top Gear is easily digestible by a broad audience because it’s really about the passion the presenters have for the cars. It’s NOT about the cars themselves, and it’s NOT just about the presenters themselves. The two have to work in concert or it’s a waste of time – and at the moment the Australian Top Gear is an outrageous waste of time.

Oh, and the attempt to use Charlie to clone Jeremy Clarkson is incredibly embarrassing, but to our country and surely to Clarkson himself.

By: Brad

Brad — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:27:06 +0000

What the comments so far fail to realise is that SBS is not making the show. It is made by Freehand Productions which is owned by BBC Worldwide. The BBC has absolute control over the format and content of Top Gear Australia. SBS has none.

To Alice, Top Gear UK is also scripted. So are the "surprises". The original was not an overnight success and took years to get where it is now. Give the Aussie version a chance to find its feet.

By: Jeremy Clarckson

Jeremy Clarckson — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:44:08 +0000

I’m gunna give the guys a couple of weeks to see if they get a more natural commerarderie. Based on Mondays efforts, i am worried that the gooses at SexBeforeSleep have merely cloned the pommy version and come up with a bastard abomination!

By: Bazza

Bazza — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:34:32 +0000

Charlie Cox is absolutely *appalling* as the host of the local version. He has all the charm and panache of a child molester. The other two aren't quite so bad, at least they don't make you squirm every time they look at the camera, but they do lack the same chemistry the UK cast have.

Really I don't see the point of an Australian version. For one thing, once they've covered the Holden v Ford war and Toorak Tractors a few times, what else are they going to have to talk about? Our car industry is minuscule compared to the British and European market. Surely we won't just see rehashed content from the UK show? (though I strongly fear we may)

Once the novelty has worn off, this is going to become a "watched it while I cooked tea" show, providing all the other stations have ceased transmission at that particular time.

By: Hirsty

Hirsty — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:33:52 +0000

I _like_ jerky ;)

By: jg

jg — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:08:35 +0000

OK, so expectations were high and the Australian version was clearly a franchise. What was really distressing was Charlie's (the blonde one's) hair. That hair-sprayed backsweep wasn't concealing anything except ego. And possibly delusion. He looked like a Trump tryhard but with a slightly less worse dye job. And a centre part.

Oh yeah. And the charm and charisma of a piece of dried-up roadkill. You know, like jerky but with less personality.